Live Around Town This Week

We sure hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend and didn’t blow off any fingers. Monday night, most of us will be enjoying 4th of July fireworks at Gas Works Park or from any one of our favorite local viewing spots. Many have rated Seattle’s fireworks display as one of the best in the country and we tend to agree. Being a great live music city is also something we tend to agree on, and this week is no different. Of course with the holiday on Monday and no work for most, the week starts off slow but should be in full swing by weeks end. Tuesday starts strong with Athens jam band Widespread Panic at the fancy digs of Paramount Theatre. They seem like a perfect band for Seattle. On Wednesday, eccentric world supergroup Afrocubism bring an amazing mix of music that’s perfectly suited for enjoying outside at the Zoo. I’ll say it again, we have some of the most spoiled animals in the country. You probably won’t hear about any african cobra’s or bengal tigers escaping anytime soon. Need your North End fix? Thursday night on the water with the Moondoggies seems like a good enough excuse to get Port Gardner Landing in Everett for one of their free Waterfront Concerts. Your big night out this week has got to be Friday – we’ve got Alison Krauss at Marymoor Park (another beautiful setting), Onry Ozzborn at Chop Suey, and a Counterfist Album Release Show at Neumo’s. Hell, we’ve even got American Idols, Backstreet Boys, and New Kids On The Block in town. It’s a crazy night and those are just a few of the choices, there should something for everyone (including the US Air Guitar Championships). Saturday we’ve got BattleCry Melody at Showbox (SODO), the Grand Archives at Neumo’s, and a cool band called Zorch at HTFC. Sunday you can get your seafood and your music on at the Ballard Seafood Festival, featuring the Moondoggies and Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs. Last but certainly not least we’ve got Neko Case at the Paramount and Wildlife at Neumo’s on Sunday. Have fun out there and tell us who you saw!

The world music supergroup Afrocubism, unites three musicians – Eliades Ochoa, Djelimady Tounkara, and Bassekou Kouyate. This is the pinnacle of world music and their live show should not be missed. What a great excuse to go to the Zoo.

Cool show with local folk group Autumn Electric, a band that “mockumented” their recent tour into a short film done by Mark and Dan films. This is the first time the short film will be shown in its entirety.

Carrie Akre is a musician best known for her work with Seattle underground bands Hammerbox and Goodness. Since Goodness disbanded in 1998, she has contributed vocals to the project band The Rockfords (which included Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready on guitar), and released three solo albums. She releases albums on her own label, My Way Records. This is her final solo Seattle show.

Not to be confused with the Spanish Dance Rock band Delorean, Dolorean is a Portland-based folk masterminded by the brilliant Al James. This is beautifully crafted music that should appeal to anyone who likes high quality folk music. This is a band that gets better every listen.